A Withered Rose
by HidingintheTARDIS
Summary: What would the universe be like if the Doctor had never met Rose? What would change and what would stay the same? Warning: Some parts may wind up being considerably darker than the original televised stories.
1. Unrequited

"And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it... Rose Tyler..." began the Doctor, before fading away to nothing.

Rose broke down. This wasn't what she had wanted. She'd promised that she'd stay with the Doctor forever. Turning, she ran to her mum, felt herself being hugged tightly. She wasn't sure how long the embrace lasted. She barely noticed. The Doctor was gone, forever, and that's all she could think about. This was somehow worse than when he'd sent her away, in Canary Wharf.

Rose was still sobbing when her family bundled her into the jeep again. By the time they reached Bergen, her tears had mostly subsided. But she was still melancholy. Silent.

"We'll get rooms here tonight and travel more in the morning, sweetheart." Jackie, her mum, had informed her.

But Rose couldn't sleep that night. She kept thinking about the Doctor, wondering what he was doing. What planet he was on. No more travel in space. No more seeing those wonderful sights. Like Sarah Jane, she'd been left behind. It wasn't his fault this time, but she'd still been left behind. These thoughts occupied her mind until the wee hours of the morning, so that she couldn't have gotten more than a couple hours of sleep by the time her alarm went off.

Looking at herself in the mirror above the bathroom sink, Rose saw that she had large circles under her eyes. After splashing water on her face halfheartedly, she dressed and went to meet her family. There was a breakfast of some sort. Rose had no idea what it was, she barely ate any. It could've been her favorite, or it could've been a pile of sticks; she couldn't taste it. She also didn't hear the conversation around her.

Working on autopilot, Rose climbed into the jeep with everyone else. The drive to the ferry seemed longer than the drive from the ferry. Once the jeep was loaded, Rose climbed out of the jeep and started to wander off. With a soft grunt, she acknowledged her mum saying that she was there to talk, if Rose wanted.

Somehow, she found her way to the observation area and sat, staring unseeingly out at the grey waves. After a few moments, she realized that she wasn't alone. Someone had sat beside her. Sure that it was her mum or Mickey, she turned to tell them to leave her be. Instead, she found herself looking at a stranger.

The woman had a sort of oriental look, and was not much older than she was. Rose wasn't sure exactly what nationality she was, but her ornate garments hinted that she wasn't from Norway at all. Not even from Europe. Vaguely, Rose wondered why the woman would wear them on a dirty ferry at all.

"You are hurt. In pain. I tell your fortune. Maybe good news?" The other woman suggested, not unkindly.

Rose managed a polite half-smile, "I just want to be alone, thanks."

"I make your pain go away. Promise. Fortunes are meant to be told." insisted the woman.

 _Not this fortune._ Rose wanted to shout. A future without the Doctor? The thought was almost unbearable still. But there was something in the woman's intent gaze that stilled her. Something almost familiar. Rose just couldn't place it. "Yeah, all right." she relented.

The woman got to her feet, "Not here. Come. Come with me."

Rose felt herself following the woman, wondering where they were going. She didn't have long to wait. Below decks, there was a partially hidden cupboard-sized office. Between the two of them and the tiny table, there was barely any room.

The other woman took Rose's right hand and began to trace a finger across her palm. "Your life is fascinating, a long life." she proclaimed, "A large family. But here, a man. You met an extraordinary man and you lost him."

This was nothing Rose didn't already know. "Yeah. And? Your promise?" she prompted, unimpressed.

The woman clung tightly to Rose's hand, almost painfully so, as a wave of dizziness passed over Rose. "What if you never lost him? Think back. No more pain. Think back."

Another wave of dizziness swept over Rose. She thought she might faint. Maybe she did, because suddenly she was no longer aware of anything else.


	2. Wilson

A mechanical thrumming, grating, sound filled the basement of Henrik's. For those unfamiliar with the shop, it might have sounded like the ventilation system was broken. But it wasn't. Tucked away in the shadows, a tall blue box started to take shape. A light strobed on top until, with a final dull thud, the box was fully solid.

The door creaked open and out stepped the Doctor. He'd gotten some strange readings in the TARDIS as he flew past Earth in the vortex and he wanted to check them out. Fortunately, the area he landed in seemed to be deserted. It seemed to be a disused seasonal storage area. Signs proclaiming summer sales were stuffed into an almost life-sized Christmas sleigh. Whole shop window dummies, and their parts, littered the room.

The Doctor took it all in in a moment and strode purposely to the door. He had to get a look around, find the source of those readings. Finding himself in a long corridor, the Doctor turned right and started walking. Almost immediately, he heard a man's voice behind him.

"Hey, you, what do you think you're doing down here?" it asked.

Turning, the Doctor saw that it belonged to a man who looked to be middle age, greying around his temples. "What are you doing down here?" he repeated, "Nobody's allowed down here."

"Oh, ah, hello! I'm the Doctor. Surprise building inspector." the Doctor replied quickly.

The other man squinted, "Nobody told me there was to be an inspection."

The Doctor managed a grin. "What's the good of a surprise inspection if you know about it ahead of time?" he said glibly. "Tell me... what's your name?"

"Wilson."

"Right. Wilson, tell me, have you noticed anything odd lately? Things going missing, strange noises, anything like that?" questioned the Doctor.

Wilson thought about it for a moment and shook his head, "Nothing like that, no."

Shrugging, the Doctor replied, "All right, then, you don't mind if I look around a bit?"

Pointing to a door behind him, Wilson shook his head again, "Of course not. My office is right there if you need me. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have."

After assuring Wilson that he'd let him know, the Doctor took his leave and started to look around. The basement was enormous. The floors above were similarly large and spacious. It took him several hours before he finally worked his way to the roof. Once he was there, he immediately saw what he was looking for. A transmitter, obviously not of Earth origin. He moved to disconnect it, dismantle it, but stopped himself. If he did that, it'd only get put back together again. There was no way around it, he was going to have to blow it up. That was the only way to ensure that it was gone for good.

The Doctor rushed back downstairs and to his TARDIS. Fortunately, he knew exactly what parts he needed and it didn't take him long to put everything together. The device he ended up with was small, easy to carry, and quite powerful. It'd take down half the building, and him with it, but there would be no more problem with the transmitter.

Not the easiest way to go, but at least it'd be quick. He just had to wait until the store was closed, since he didn't want to take out a shop full of customers as well. He considered trying a quick hop ahead a couple hours, but decided didn't want to risk jumping ahead too far. Not this time. Eventually, he decided to spend his time tinkering, getting the TARDIS cleaned up. There was no real real point to it, but he didn't have anything else better to do at the moment.

Eventually, the TARDIS console chimed to let him know that it was the appointed time for his task. After putting his leather jacket back on, he picked up the bomb he'd pieced together earlier and slipped out of the TARDIS.

"Are you _still_ here?" a familiar voice spoke behind him as the Doctor headed for the lift. Turning to face Wilson, the Doctor said, "I was just-" A woman's scream cut through the air, sending the Doctor off running and Wilson at his heels. So the building wasn't quite deserted, then. Trouble.

There was another scream and the Doctor skidded to a stop in front of a set of double doors. Another storage room, he'd discovered earlier in the day. Packed full of... He tried the door, gave it a mighty shove. Locked. There was an easy way around that, of course. His sonic screwdriver was out and the door clicked open before Wilson could register what was happening. Both men hurried inside.

A large group of shop window dummies had encircled an unconscious young woman. Blonde. Pink hoodie. Dark blue jeans. Crimson puddle of blood. It was hard to tell, but from a distance things looked bad. The Doctor thought he heard Wilson mutter, "...Rose?"

Impossibly, the dummies turned when they heard the doors opening. As they started to advance, the Doctor quickly adjusted the setting on his sonic. A shrill whine filled the air and the dummies stopped. A couple, in mid-stride, simply fell over. The Doctor rushed over to kneel beside the unknown woman. Breathing, shallow. Heartbeat, thready. But she was alive. Barely, but alive nevertheless.

"Come on!" he shouted at the stunned Wilson, "Help me get her out of here!"

Wilson hesitated. "But she's hurt... Shouldn't move her... Ambulance?" he was clearly having trouble processing what just happened.

The Doctor gave him a glare, "Those things are going to wake up and take out you and me and anyone else in here if you don't _help me_."

Relenting, Wilson approached. The Doctor had Wilson lift the woman, helping to get her in a fireman carry. Wilson wasn't exactly an Olympian, but neither was the woman very heavy. He'd manage. It took only a few seconds, but some of the dummies were already starting to twitch. "Hurry!" prompted the Doctor, sprinting ahead and reopening the door. He watched the dummies, ready to take them out again, but Wilson managed to make it out before any of them were mobile. Stepping out into the corridor, another whir of the sonic locked the doors. Not that it would hold them for long, but it should do.

The lift wasn't far and the Doctor helped Wilson inside. "Who _are_ you?" the man asked as the lift went up.

"Told you, I'm the Doctor. Nice to meet you." replied the Doctor.

Wilson wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not, "But..."

"Never mind me. Get her out of here. Run for your life." the Doctor instructed as the lift doors dinged open, "Run!"

In no position to argue, Wilson gave the Doctor a frightened glance before scuttling out of the lift. From his explorations earlier, the Doctor knew that the outside exit wasn't far. He'd be able to get out, but how far away could Wilson get with the woman before the bomb went off? And he suddenly found himself reluctant to find out what getting blown to bits actually felt like, not to mention realizing that this was only a sub-transmitter. After hitting the lift button for the roof, the Doctor pulled the bomb out of the pocket he'd shoved it into earlier and set to work. By the time he got to the roof, he'd managed to add a delay. Two minutes. Not much, but it should be enough. Hopefully.

Grimly, he stepped out onto the roof. No dummies up here, fortunately. He attached the charge to the transmitter and got back into the lift. Just as he reached the TARDIS, the explosion went off. The whole building shook. It was even stronger than he expected. Good.

"Just need to find the main transmitter..." he muttered to himself.

After setting a few controls, he sent the TARDIS into the vortex, to the next day. Upon arrival, he scanned recent local broadcasts for anything unusual. There was a bit about the shop being blown up, noting that two shop employees had been nearby and had been taken to hospital. So Wilson had made it out with the woman, after all. But nothing especially unusual. Nothing about shop window dummies come to life, or anything of the sort.

He'd have to do things the hard way. First, he went searching in the ship's storage areas until he found what he was looking for: a vial of anti-plastic.

Then, he spent the day adjusting and readjusting the TARDIS's scanning ability. It was dark outside before he picked up another trace. He instructed the TARDIS to follow it and he continually adjusted different controls while in flight. It was a very short trip, the TARDIS landing with another dull thud.

Pulling out the vial of anti-plastic to make sure that he still had it, the Doctor stepped outside and looked around as he tucked the vial away again. Ordinary London street. Buildings. Windows. Street. London Eye. Bridge. What was he missing?

Oh.

 _Oh._

That was fantastic. The London Eye as a transmitter? It'd reach half the world. Now he really had to put a stop to this.

Not far off, the Doctor found some maintenance tunnels. That'd be a good place to hide alien technology and not get noticed, he realized, so down he went. What he found below would look to most people like a pit of molten lava, but the Doctor knew better. The Nestene Consciousness, which had controlled all those dummies, was down there. He at the pool for a moment, before making his way down to the gangway closest to and overlooking the "lava".

"Am I addressing the Consciousness?" he asked, even though he was sure of the answer.

"You are." burbled the liquid in its own language.

"Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?"

"We have done nothing wrong."

"Oh, don't give me that! It's an invasion, plain and simple."

"We have the right to live."

"Don't talk about constitutional rights."

"We only wanted to..."

"I am talking! This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learned how to walk. But they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you, on their behalf. Please, just go."

Suddenly, the Doctor felt himself being grabbed from behind by two shop window dummies. They were surprisingly strong as he struggled to break free. One of them found the vial of anti-plastic in his jacket pocket.

"What is this?" the liquid screeched.

"That was just for insurance. I wasn't going to use it."

"You attack us! You came here to kill us!"

"I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy, I swear, I'm not."

"Liar! You brought other danger with you!"

"What do you mean?"

A soft hum from above caught the Doctor's attention and he turned his head to look. The TARDIS had brought down in some sort of concealed maintenance lift. "You had other plans for destruction, didn't you?" demanded the liquid.

"No, no, no! Honestly, no."

"Is that not yours?"

"Yes, that's my ship."

"Time Lord! You destroyed us all! You destroyed our planet!"

"That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world. I couldn't save any of them."

"World-destroyer! Death-bringer!"

The liquid roiled and screeched, continuing to shout epithets at the Doctor. He knew he had to do something, or else his time on Earth had been a waste. A bolt of electricity emanated from the liquid. The activation signal. All the shop window dummies in London were going to go active and start killing people. Sooner or later, it'd be all the plastic.

While the Consciousness was briefly distracted by the activation, the Doctor suddenly managed to slip free of the dummy that still held him. He flipped it into the vat that contained the Nestene Consciousness, swiftly followed by the dummy that had the vial of anti-plastic. The liquid screamed in pain while explosions started overhead. The Doctor ran to the TARDIS and hurried inside.

"Well, that's sorted." he said to himself as he hurriedly activated the controls to enter the time vortex. Not that the TARDIS would be damaged, but he knew it would get persnickety if he remained for too long. Plus, he needed time to figure out where to go and that would be more difficult to decide if the console room was getting shaken about.

So off he went.


	3. Watch the World Burn

As the TARDIS flew aimlessly in the time vortex, the Doctor felt nothing but melancholy. He should feel glad that he'd managed to save those stupid apes again, but he didn't. It was just yet another day for him. Although he'd never really gotten along with other Time Lords, he'd had a hard time enjoying his travels since Gallifrey was destroyed. Since he'd killed them all. It was a heavy burden for anyone.

The Doctor was tired of saving planets and people when he couldn't even save his own people. It wasn't fair! Why should they get to be happy? He slammed his fists down on the console in frustration. He was tired of saving planets and people right now. Just this once, he wanted to watch one burn the way his had. To blaze across the sky in a ball of fire while he stood by. To feel like his fate wasn't a singular one.

Suddenly, he knew exactly where he wanted to go. He spent so much time around Earth, he'd watch the Earth burn. He was, of course, still much too altruistic to allow it to happen while people lived there, but he knew exactly _when_ to visit. He set the controls for five billion years in the future. The end of the Earth.

The console room thrummed with power and a dull thump announced that the TARDIS had landed. He peered outside. White pseudo-marble and pseudo-wood. Generic decoration. This was exactly where he wanted to be. The year 5.5/Apple/26. There was a large viewport on the far wall and he approached it slowly as the opaque shield came down. As he did, he could see Sol start blossoming into a red giant. He'd made it just in time; it wouldn't be long now until Earth was engulfed by its star. He watched for a few moments, but it would be a while before anything of actual interest happened so he decided to explore.

Behind a locked door, easily opened by his sonic screwdriver, he found a massive hall. The main viewing area, although it was currently empty. A large window of exoglass stretched across the ceiling overhead and down the far wall, broken only by two thin supporting beams. Even the Doctor was mildly impressed by the sight. He approached the window and looked out at the Earth and sun again, trying to count the gravity satellites.

From behind, he heard a voice ask, "Who the hell are you?"

The Doctor turned and saw an indigo blue man. A Crespallion, he realized. "Oh, that's nice. Thanks." he retorted.

"But how did you get in?" questioned the blue man as he approached, "This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked! They're on their way any second."

Reaching into his jacket pocket, the Doctor found the smooth leather wallet that contained his psychic paper and pulled it out. "No, that's me. I'm a guest. Look, I've got an invitation. Look, there you see? It's fine. You see? The Doctor. I'm the Doctor. Is that all right?"

The man stared for a moment in surprise. "Well, obviously. Apologies, et cetera. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy."

The Doctor simply nodded as the man turned to walk away, over to a podium that the Doctor hadn't noticed before.

"We have in attendence the Doctor. Thank you. All staff to their positions." the Crespallion announced. Staff appeared from seemingly nowhere and scuttled around, obviously getting things ready. Once the staff was in position, the Crespallion started to announce the other guests.

As they were announced, the guests entered the hall. Some of them were vaguely known by the Doctor, a few he hadn't heard about before. While others were still being ushered in, Jabe from the Forest of Cheem approached and gave him a cutting from her grandfather. Gifts. He'd forgotten about this custom. What'd he have for a gift?

"Thank you. Um... I give you in return, air from my lungs." the Doctor said seriously before slowly exhaling over Jabe.

Jabe looked pleased. "How intimate." she commented, studying him briefly before moving on to the next guest.

After being spat upon by the Moxx of Balhoon with his gift of bodily salivas, the Doctor realized that his gift idea hadn't been such a bad one after all. The Adherents of the Repeated Meme gave him a silvery sphere, like a large pearl, before his attention was drawn back to the Crespallion doing the announcing.

"And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen and trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen." he said as the doors to the hall slid open once more.

Into the room, pushed by a pair of attendants, was a piece of skin that had been stretched taut across a frame. The Doctor couldn't help being mildly amused as Lady Cassandra announced how thin and dainty she was. Thin? Yes. Dainty? Debatable. Human? She didn't even look human. The Lady Cassandra's gifts were for the group, not individual gifts like the others had brought. They were an ostrich egg, with an entirely inaccurate description of ostriches and a music player that she called an "iPod" but that the Doctor knew was a jukebox.

As music started to play from the jukebox, the Crespallion had one more announcement, "Refreshments will now be served. Earth death in 30 minutes."

Since there was still time before the Earth burned, the Doctor decided to look around some more. As he was leaving, Jabe approached him with a device in her hands. "Doctor?" she asked and he paused to look, "Thank you." Assuming the thanks were for the intimate gift earlier, he continued on.

As he was wandering down a corridor, the platform address system clicked on, "Would the owner of the blue box in gallery 15 please report to the steward's office immediately. Guests are reminded that the use of teleportation devices is strictly prohibited under peace treaty 5.4/Cup/16. Thank you." Gallery 15 must've been where he parked, so he made his way to the steward's office. After a brief discussion with the steward, the Crespallion from earlier, the Doctor received a claim slip for his TARDIS which was moved elsewhere.

By the time he found himself in Gallery 10, the Doctor heard another announcement about Earth-death being in 20 minutes. This was as good a place as any to wait and watch, he decided.

He'd only been in the gallery for a few minutes when the station shook. "That's not supposed to happen." he told himself. Another announcement told everyone, "Honoured guests may be reassured that that gravity pockets may cause slight turbulence. Thanking you."

Leaving the gallery once more, the Doctor went to investigate. The main hall was still filled with guests when he returned. "That wasn't a gravity pocket." he muttered to himself as he inspected one of the computer access points in the room, "I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that." Noticing Jabe nearby, he asked her, "What do you think, Jabe? Listen to the engines, they're pitched up about 30 Hertz. Is that dodgy or what?"

Jabe shrugged fractionally, "It's the sound of metal, that doesn't make any sense to me."

"Where's the engine room?"

"I don't know. But the maintenance duct is just behind our guests' suite, I could show you."

"I'm all yours." the Doctor agreed, deciding it was simply polite to offer Jabe his arm. As they left the hall, the 15 minute announcement was read.

They found the duct easily enough. Large enough to walk through, if a bit crowded with cabling and ductwork. "Who's in charge of Platform One? Has it got a captain or what?" he queried Jabe.

"There's just the steward and the staff." she replied, following the Doctor, "All the rest is controlled by the metal mind."

Looking back at Jabe, the Doctor asked another question, "You mean the computer? Well, who controls that?"

"The Corporation. They move Platform One from one artistic event to another."

The pair was now deep inside the duct. "Well, there's no one from the Corporation on board."

"They're not needed. This facility is purely automatic. It's the height of the Alpha Class. Nothing can go wrong."

The Doctor had heard that before, recently. "Unsinkable?"

"If you like. The nautical metaphor is appropriate."

"You're telling me! I was on board another ship once. They said that was unsinkable. I ended up clinging to an iceberg. It wasn't half cold." the Doctor paused for breath, "So, what you're saying is, if we get in trouble, there's no one to help us out?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Fantastic!" the Doctor responded sarcastically.

"I don't understand. In what way is that fantastic?"

The Doctor was silent for a moment as they moved even deeper into the ducting. "So, tell me, Jabe, what's a tree like you doing in a place like this?"

"Respect for the Earth."

"Come on! Everyone on this platform is worth zillions!"

"Well, perhaps it's a case of having to be seen at the right occasions." admitted Jabe.

"In case your share prices drop? I know you lot. You've got massive forests everywhere, roots everywhere! And there's always money in land."

"All the same. We respect the Earth as family. So many species evolved from that planet. Mankind is only one. I'm another. My ancestors were transplanted from the planet down below. I'm a direct descendant of the tropical rainforest."

There was an access node ahead. The Doctor spotted it and interrupted Jabe as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, "Excuse me."

"And what about your ancestry, Doctor?" Jabe asked as she watched, "Perhaps you could tell a story or two. Perhaps a man who only enjoys trouble when there's nothing else left? I scanned you earlier. The metal machine had trouble identifying your species. It refused to admit your existence. And even when it named you, I wouldn't believe it. But it was right. I know where you're from!"

The Doctor stopped his examination of the access node for a moment, his expression growing sad.

"Forgive me for intruding, but it's remarkable that you even exist!" continued Jabe, "I just want to say... how sorry I am."

As he laid her hand on his arm in sympathy, the Doctor fought to control himself. His eyes grew watery as he looked at Jabe, not saying anything.

Then the moment was over. He took one more look at the node and headed down the access shaft again, going through a metal door. Jabe, of course, followed. Behind the door was a huge cavernous room. A walkway extended down the middle, over the otherwise seemingly bottomless pit of a floor. Three massive fans, each about a third of the way across, hung perpendicularly across the walkway.

"Is it me, or is it a bit nippy?" the Doctor remarked, in regards to the breeze they both now felt, "Fair dos, though, that's a great bit of air conditioning. Sort of nice and old fashioned. Bet they call it retro."

There was another access panel here and the Doctor turned his attention to this one, his sonic screwdriver whirring. The panel came off easily and out popped a metal spider. Obviously, it wasn't a real spider. It was much too big, for one; about the size of a fist. For another, it only had four legs. It scuttled away from the panel, across the floor and started climbing one of the walls. "What the hell is that?" he asked, watching it.

"Is it part of the "retro"? suggested Jabe.

"I don't think so. Hold on." Adjusting its settings, the Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the thing. He tried several times, but his screwdriver seemed to have no effect at all.

From behind him, something shot out and knocked the device down. It looked like rope, but when the Doctor turned to look he saw a vine-like appendage disappearing into Jabe's wrist. "Hey, nice liana!" he complemented as he picked up the now inactive spider.

"Thank you." Jabe replied, "Not supposed to show them in public."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anybody. Now, then, who's been bringing their pets on board?"

"What does it do?"

"Sabotage..." he said as the 10 minute Earth-death announcement was read, "And the temperature's about to rocket. Come on."

They made their way out, back into the more public areas of the platform. Their path ended up taking them past the steward's office, where they found several staff gathered in the corridor. Smoke was seeping out of the office as an alarm sounded.

"All right, hold on, get back!" the Doctor ordered automatically when he saw this, pressing his way through to the panel beside the door. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and was soon rewarded by the computer telling him that the sun filter was rising.

"Is the steward in there?" Jabe asked in astonishment.

"You can smell him." said the Doctor, matter-of-factly. Death. Just what he didn't want when he made this little trip.

 _Earth death in 5 minutes._

Jabe carried the metal spider away, leaving the Doctor to his task. A futile task, he realized a few moments later. It was too late for the steward, there was nothing more to be done there. He arrived in the hall with the other guests as Jabe was talking to them.

"The metal mind confirms... the spider devices have infiltrated the whole of Platform One." she told everyone.

Lady Cassandra gasped along with everyone else, asking, "How's that possible? Our private rooms are protected by a code-wall."

Moxx of Balhoon demanded, "Summon the steward!" as the Doctor took the spider from Jabe.

"I'm afraid the steward is dead." she replied.

"Who killed him?" asked Moxx.

Now it was the Lady Cassandra's turn again, "This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe. He invited us. Talk to the face! Talk to the face!"

Meanwhile, the Doctor had been fiddling with the spider. He flipped it over and said, "Easy way of finding out. Someone brought their little pet on board. Let's send him back to master." The now-reactivated device scuttled away, scanning the guests with its single glowing red eye. It beeped and whistled before finally approaching a particular group.

"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme! J'accuse!" said Lady Cassandra at this revelation.

The Doctor simply shook his head once, "That's all very well and really kinda obvious. But if you stop and think about it..." He walked over and stopped in front of one of the group members, who tried to attack him. The Doctor grabbed the arm and it tore off with a spark. "A repeated meme is just an idea. And that's all they are, an idea." He quickly hit a control on the torn off arm and the entire group fell down with a soft whirring noise, deactivated. "Remote-control droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker. Go on, Jimbo. Go home."

After being nudged by the Doctor's foot, the spider clattered away again. This time, it stopped in front of Lady Cassandra.

"I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed." she told the Doctor sullenly. "Oh, you're too late anyway. My spiders have control of the main frame. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax-free, past every code-wall. I'm not just a pretty face."

The Doctor was almost amused. "Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it, how stupid is that?"

"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation." explained Lady Cassandra, "With myself as one of the victims. The compensation would've been enormous."

Exasperated, the Doctor responded, "Five billion years, and it still comes down to money."

"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this? Flatness costs a fortune! I am the last human, Doctor."

Moxx broke in, "Arrest her! The infidel!"

"Oh, shut it, pixie!" retorted Lady Cassandra, "I've still got my final option."

 _Earth death in 3 minutes._

"And here it comes. You're just as useful dead, all of you." Lady Cassandra practically crowed, "I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? "Burn baby, burn.""

"Then you'll burn with us!" pointed out Jabe.

But Lady Cassandra wasn't done, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but... I _am_ such a naughty thing. Spiders, activate!"

The whole station shuddered, rocked by explosions both small and large.

"Force-fields gone, with the planet about to explode..." Lady Cassandra almost sounded sorry. Almost. "At least it'll be quick! Bye-bye, darlings."

 _Safety systems failing. Safety systems failing. Heat levels rising._

Lady Cassandra teleported away in a flicker of white light.

"Reset the computer!" suggested Mox.

Jabe sounded resigned as she said, "Only the steward would know how."

But the Doctor was sure he could do something about this. "No, we can do it by hand." he promised, "There must be a system restore switch. Jabe, come on! You lot, just chill."

The pair hurried out of the hall and threaded their way through the station, to the enormous fan room. The fans were going much faster now as the temperature got higher.

"Oh. Guess where the switch is?" the Doctor said when he saw it at the end of the walkway, blocked by the speeding fans. He pulled the cover away from the wall. Behind it was a large switch that controlled the fans. When he pulled it down, the blades stopped. But the instant he let go of the switch, it snapped back into place and the fans started up again.

 _External temperature 5,000 degrees._

The fans went faster still.

Jabe pulled the switch down, slowing the fans again.

"You can't, the heat's gonna vent through this place." the Doctor said, when he realized what she was doing.

"I know."

"Jabe, you're made of wood."

"Then stop wasting time, Time Lord."

The Doctor hurried away. He made it past the first fan with relative ease but the room was large. Even with Jabe slowing the blades, the second fan was still going faster than the Doctor was comfortable with by the time he was standing next to it. He could feel the station shudder as systems failed one by one. Timing it just right, he hurried through the second fan. The third fan was going faster still as he approached. He heard a shriek, a scream, and looked back. Jabe had caught fire from the high heat, releasing the switch as she died.

 _Another death. My fault. And I couldn't stop it._ the Doctor blamed himself.

The fans whirred faster and faster now, faster than the eye could see. The Doctor's leather coat was blown back in the wind. He made a few abortive tries to get past, stopping just before being sliced in two. That wasn't going to work.

He watched the fan blades speed past for a moment and then he closed his eyes. Concentrating, he felt time slow around him. The fan blades seemed to go slower and slower. Eyes still closed, he took a step of faith. That was all he needed to pass the third and final fan.

Rushing over to the reset switch, he tugged on it. Just in time, he felt the station shudder one final time as the system rebooted and the shields came back online.

As the temperature started to drop again, the fans slowed so that the Doctor was able to pass them easily. Approaching Jabe's remains, grief and anger overwhelmed him. If he hadn't come, she might still be alive. A hostage, maybe, but alive. Lady Cassandra would pay for this. She would pay dearly.

Back in the main hall once again, he found the guests coping the best they could. Some were grieving. Some were literally smoking piles of ash. More deaths that Lady Cassandra had caused, that he hadn't stopped. The rest of the Forest of Cheem delegation was at the far end of the hall. He told them quietly, gravely, what Jabe had done and that she had perished.

That task completed, he stalked away. "Teleportation through 5,000 degrees needs some kind of feed. It has to be hidden nearby." he told nobody in particular, anger bubbling. Picking up the ostrich egg that Lady Cassandra had brought, he smashed it to pieces. Inside was, exactly as he expected, a teleportation enhancer. There was a particular control on the top that he activated.

The device whirred and Lady Cassandra reappeared, "Oh, you should've seen their little alien faces... Oh."

"The _last human_." the Doctor said, scornfully.

Lady Cassandra was briefly at a loss, clearly not having planned for this eventuality, "So, you passed my little test. Bravo! This makes you eligible to join the, uh, the Human Club."

"People have _died_ Cassandra. You _murdered_ them."

"It depends on your definition of people! And that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries! Take me to court, then, Doctor, and watch me smile and cry and flutter."

The Doctor watched impassively, "And creak?"

"And what?"

"Creak! You're creaking!"

It was true. Cassandra was just a single piece of skin, stretched across a frame. The platform was still quite warm and very dry. "What?" she now sounded concerned, "I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens! Moisturize me! Moisturize me! It's too hot!"

"You raised the temperature."

"Have pity!"

But the Doctor had none. Not for Cassandra. He was angry enough that he could have killed her with his bare hands right then, but all he had to do now was simply stand by and watch. She was still pleading with him when the heat caused her skin to shrink and then implode with a splat.

That was it. There was nothing more for him on the platform. He'd even missed watching the Earth burn. And for what? Money? It was all so senseless. Jabe had seemed so kind, and now she was gone. The Doctor found his TARDIS and unlocked it, tears of grief welling in his eyes as he entered. So many dead in the past 30 minutes, and he hadn't even been able to stop it. More dead to weigh on his conscience.

He approached the TARDIS console and started setting controls more or less at random. He couldn't stay here. He had to get away. He had to go... somewhere else. Anywhere else.


End file.
